


All The Dates That Weren't Me

by Sheepish23



Category: The Smoke Room, The Smoke Room (Visual Novel)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Furry, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-17 22:27:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29479170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sheepish23/pseuds/Sheepish23
Summary: Broke bitch, Samuel Ayers, works his tail off at The Brewing Room. Brewing coffee for Karens, Johns, and other annoying people. Just trying to earn enough money to support himself.Rich kid, Murdoch Brynes, forced to sit with stuck-up girls all afternoon by his parents. Wasting away his time in his local cafe. Not looking for anything of substance with these girls, what happens when a certain mountain lion catches his eye?
Relationships: Samuel Ayers/Murdoch Brynes
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter 1

The morning rush. The worst part of the job. City dwellers talk, loud mouthed into phones and yell out coffee orders for themselves and their co-workers. Samuel’s tail flicks behind him as an old weasel spits in his face about getting her order wrong. The line behind her are tapping their feet in impatience. His tail continues to flick as she leaves the shop, nose high in the air and her correct order steaming in her paw. 

Samuel sighs as more customers gear up to place their orders. His co-workers weave themselves around him as he stands at the cash register. Coffee cups pile up besides him and are taken to be filled. Blenders buzz in the background and chatter fills the space. Dark wooden tables hold animals of all different sizes. The warm lighting creates a homey atmosphere paired with the green plants that fit in the corners. 

“Next!” he calls out to the next customer. A large coyote dressed in a black police uniform approaches the counter. It’s pulled tightly around his pecks. The uniform looks _good_ on him. Samuel coughs slightly into his paw. 

“So, what would you like?” his happy-go-lucky customer service voice is back as he questions the coyote. 

“One medium black coffee, please,” the coyote gruffly gives him order and reaches into his wallet.

“Okay. That’ll be $3.45.”

“Here ya go,”

Samuel gives the card back after ringing him up, “Have a good day,”

He huffs away as he goes to the pick up area.

“They charge too damn much for this bullshit nowadays,”

Samuel’s ears flick slightly at the male’s sentiment towards the prices.

The day continues as normal. Annoyed and impatient customers and the bitter scent of coffee that he’s grown all too accustomed too. The sun is barely peeking over the next building in front of the shop. Ms. Dora walks over to him as he hangs up his apron.

“Good work today,” her straight to the point conversations were always appreciated by Samuel. There’s no smoke and mirrors that he had to decipher. Just plain old conversation. 

“Thank you. I hope to get that full time position if no one else is willing to take that spot. I kinda need the money,” Samuel’s awkwardness gets the best of him as he rubs the back of his neck. 

“Ah. I’m sure I can arrange some things so that you can get that full time job. There aren’t many others that want the position,” Ms. Dora smiles gently at him.

“Wait? Really? That would be amazing!” Samuel’s tail wags slightly at the idea of getting the job. 

“Of course. Now, get going. Don’t want you to forget about dinner, again,” Ms. Dora stands still as he makes his way to the door. 

“Have a good night, Ms. Dora!” He pushes his way out the door waving good-bye to her. 

“Same to you, Samuel. Stay safe!” Her voice makes it way out the door before it swings shut. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One of the many things that Samuel does while working is watch all the customers that stream in and out of the shop. It’s interesting to see the types of people that enter this small shop. Reading people is a skill that he had to pick up from his last… career. Although, most wouldn’t consider it a job. Spending evenings on a cold street corner and ending up in some weirdo’s bed is not the most compelling experience to draw skills from, but it’s just the life that he lead. The shift of atmospheres threw him for a loop at the beginning. The smiling face, the friendly conversations, and much more that he almost never experienced. However, the ever present grumpy customer is an overlap for both jobs. 

The hiss of steam from the cappuccino machine pulls him from his thoughts. His co-worker, Cynthia works at the counter and one of the other girls that worked there. Never caught her name but she’s nice for the most part. The dinging of the bell indicates that there are new people entering the shop. Samuel’s task for the day was to restock some of the food and bakery items. The treats waft a sweet scent into his nose. This was his favorite part of the job. No one was trying to talk to him, just him and delicious sweets and bakery goods. 

The Brewing Room is a small shop that slots itself awkwardly among the other store fronts of Main Street. Large windows allow sunlight to stream in and catch white smoke as it floats away from liquid brown coffee. Ms. Dora is a shadow in the shop. Never truly present but always there to give a helping hand if someone really needs it. 

“Samuel! I need help up front,” Cynthia calls back to him. 

“Okay! Be there in a second!” he responds as he wipes his hands on his apron. 

The store wasn’t that crowded yet but it seems that Cynthia was standing rigid and on edge. Two red foxes sit across from each other in the right corner of the store front. A tense atmosphere gathers around them.

“What’d you need?” 

“I don’t think I can serve those two today…”

“What? Why?”

“The last time I saw that guy his date screamed at me for ‘coming onto him’. It might be someone different but it seems like the company that he keeps isn’t the friendliest,” Cynthia huffs out in annoyance, her arms are crossed tightly and her tail is flicking in an anxious manner. Samuel reaches out to comfort her, placing a hand on her shoulder. 

“Of course, of course. Go sit down in the break room. I’ll take care of them.”

The red foxes sit with backs straight like wooden planks. Samuel cringes at the thought of sitting like that for hours on end. Although, it seemed natural on the two. 

“Hello. Anything I can get you two for today?” Samuel slips into his customer service voice as he stands before the two. 

“Ah yes. Can I have one medium black coffee with a splash of milk?”

“Of course and for you ma’am?”

The vixen glances up at Samuel with an unimpressed face on. 

“Same as him,” her response was clipped and impolite to say the least. 

“Coming right up.”

As Samuel walks away from the table he lets out a sigh.

_That was unnecessarily rude and difficult. They sure fit into Cynthia’s impressions of the two._


	2. Chapter 2

Behind the counter, Samuel grabs two white mugs and carries them over to the coffee machine. Glancing back at the two foxes, he sees that the vixen is ranting about something and crosses her arms. The male fox has an uninterested face on. 

_Doesn’t seem like he’ll be getting any tonight._

After making the coffee, he cringes as he picks up the cups. Stepping into that kind of atmosphere is not gonna be fun. He sighs heavily and walks back over to the two. 

“I’m just saying that it wasn’t _my_ choice to come here.” The male fox’s attention is directed to the camera in his hands as he says this. He seems to be browsing through the photos. 

“Well now you’ve wasted my time for nothing!!” she huffed outraged. She throws her napkin onto the table, grabs her purse and stomps out the door right past Samuel. 

“Welp, that went as expected,” the fox glances up at Samuel as he stands there, two steaming cups of coffee in his hands. 

“Um… what should I do with her coffee?” Samuel questioned as he placed one of them down in front of the fox. 

“The name’s Murdoch by the way,” the fox had a sly smile on his face and stuck out his hand for a handshake. 

“I don’t remember asking,” Samuel retorts back, “Plus you didn’t answer my question.” 

“Oh pardon me then… Samuel,” Murdoch says after glancing at Samuel’s name tag. 

“Also, you can just put the second cup down. I’ll probably drink it. I have some work to do. Thanks again, Samuel,” Murdoch continues. He reaches over and pulls out a laptop from his bag

“Okay then,” Samuel places the second cup next to the first and begins to walk away. 

“Sorry about her, by the way. I didn’t know she was gonna make such a scene,” Murdoch apologises. 

“It’s fine. At least there aren’t a lot of people here during this time. Enjoy your coffees.” 

An hour passes and the fox is sitting at the table with one empty coffee cup. He is typing away on his laptop and taking occasional sips from the other. Suddenly his focus is shattered when a repetitive ringing comes from his pocket. Samuel’s head swivels towards the sound and he watches as Murdoch takes out his phone and brings it to his ear. Samuel turns away and goes back to working. 

“Yo.”

_“Don’t ‘yo’ me. Care to explain why I was just yelled at by the girl you were supposed to be getting coffee with?”_

“Don’t get your panties in a twist Ralf,” 

_“No. Don’t you tell me when my panties should get twisted. This is the fifth girl and counting, that has complained about your rude attitude.”_

“Well, I guess she didn’t like my humor.”

_“We both know that’s bullshit. Your looks definitely outweigh whatever nonsense comes from your mouth.”_

“...”

_“Get your shit together before your parents throw another girl at you.”_

“Maybe they should throw a guy at me.”

_“Well wouldn’t that be splendid.”_

“It would.”

_“But that would never happen.”_

“No. No it would not.”

“Welp, I gotta go Ralf. Nice chatting with you. Bye”

_“Fine-”_

Murdoch lets out a heavy sigh as he puts down the phone. He drags his hands down his face and then glances back at his laptop. He closes it, puts it away in his bag and stands up to leave. Before he does he glances back at Samuel and gives him a small grin. 

The chime of the shopkeeper's bell signals that he left. Samuel walks over to the now vacant table and picks up the two cups. One is still half full. 

_I guess it’s good that he didn’t drink all of that._


End file.
